


New Year's Party

by captainmistyknight (ayna222)



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 09:26:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17180339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayna222/pseuds/captainmistyknight
Summary: Tony used to love New Year's parties, but that was before the Avengers became his family. Steve helps him find a reason to love them again.





	New Year's Party

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starsknice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsknice/gifts).



> This is a gift for starsknice! I saw "stony", "friends to lovers", "business attire", and "New Year's" and had a bit of a party. I'm sorry for the delay and I hope you like it!

Tony used to love New Year's parties. The bright lights of the fireworks, the music with bass so loud he could feel it like a heartbeat, and certainly the beautiful,  _ beautiful  _ people were great distractions. Sure, he was usually blackout drunk about an hour in, but there was nothing quite like a party to fill the gaping void of loneliness that was his life--at least for a little while. So yeah, Tony used to love New Year's parties, but that was before he found his family.

The Avengers had been together for about a year, but Tony already knew letting them move into his tower was one of the best decisions he'd ever made. Clint was dragging him into movie nights by the third night they'd all been together; Thor and Bruce had proven to be surprisingly incredible science bros--from theoretical discussions to practical experiments, he could always count on one or both for a sounding board or a helping hand. Nat had decided to make him her pet project, and was slowly whipping his ass into shape with brutal sparring lessons in exchange for some of Ana Jarvis' recipes. And  _ Steve. _

Steve was...a lot, to say the least. After the scepter mess he'd proven to be every bit as kind, generous, and  _ perfect  _ as his dad used to tell stories about and more. He patiently taught Tony all those fancy art words so that he'd stop making a fool of himself at the gallery events Pepper insists on throwing. He's the only person who can correct Tony's form on the speed bag without waking up those feelings of inadequacy always bubbling just beneath the surface. Heck, he even brings Tony  _ casserole  _ on days when he can't make it to dinner. Casserole! That he made  _ himself! _ Sure, it's usually burnt, and kinda gross, but still. It's sweet, and the reminder that Steve's not perfect is endearing.

And then there's his  _ sass!  _ Honestly, figuring out that Steve Rogers had a snarky side was one of the best things Tony's ever done. Catching him arguing with JARVIS is always one of the highlights of Tony's week. The first time he heard Steve respond to Clint's comment about a long arrow with "that's what she said", he nearly choked on his coffee. Tony's grown to love spending time with him (and may even be growing to love him, period, though of course if he told anyone that he'd have to kill them).

For all these reasons and more, Tony found himself groaning as he stares at his calendar, realizing that he'd forgotten about the New Year's charity gala that evening. Instead of sitting in the TV room and heckling the Times Square Spectacular with the rest of the team like he'd planned, he'd be holding back yawns as New York high society tried to charm his pants off one by one. It was exhaustingly fake.

The day passed by in a blur of busy work, and soon enough Tony was back in his bedroom, getting ready for a night of stuffy conversations and shitty canapes. He stopped suddenly, and groaned. He didn't have a date! Ugh, he  _ never  _ showed up to one of these things without a date--never! It's not like he hasn't been the cover of tabloids before; he could probably wallpaper the entire tower with covers with his face on them at this point. But still, a date kept the gold-diggers away and it would have been nice to have a quiet day and a half for once. Ah, well. Guess he'd be dealing with uncomfortable flirting tonight on top of everything else.

A knock at the door interrupted his internal monologue. "Come in!" he cried, as he straightened out his tie.

"Is this a bad time?" called Steve from the doorway. Tony groaned. He'd forgotten to tell the team he wouldn't be able to make it tonight. God, Steve's disappointed face was the  _ worst _ . He plastered on a grin.

"No, not at all! Come i--" he trailed off at the sight that awaited him in the doorway.

Steve stood there, fiddling with the cuffs on a  _ gorgeously  _ tailored three-piece suit, one that Tony was certain Steve didn't have in his closet before this very moment. One that was clinging to his muscles in all the right places, coupled with a tie that perfectly accentuated the flecks of grey in his blue, blue eyes.  _ Hoo boy... _ Tony shook himself out of his reverie as he realized that Steve had been talking to him this whole time.

"S-sorry, come again?" he stuttered, trying to regain any semblance of composure.

Instead of his usual "listen to me" face, Steve frowned and looked down at his outfit. "Is it the suit? Pepper sent it to me; I called her to ask if she wanted to come visit tonight, since we haven't had a chance to catch up in a while, and she mentioned that you had a gala tonight? Didn't seem fair for you to go alone, so..." He trailed off at that, rubbing the back of his neck. And was that a blush Tony could see?

"Steve, are you telling me you ditched our friends and found yourself a monkey suit just to make sure I wasn't lonely?" he asked, incredulously

"Well, when you put it that way..." muttered Steve, flicking his gaze back at the hallway.

Tony made a grab for Steve's shoulder. "No, wait! That's just...really nice of you. Maybe the second nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Sorry, Rhodey bridal carrying me out of the Afghan desert still ranks number one."

Steve cracked a smile at that.  _ Score.  _ "It just didn't seem fair for you to spend another holiday working."

"I'm going to a party; most people would say that's the  _ opposite  _ of work."

"You're going to a party--one where you're going to spend the entire night pretending to have a good time. Now, hopefully you won't have to pretend so hard."

Tony smiled. "You're the best, Steve. Now get over here and let me fix your tie before we miss our ride."

 

* * *

 

Steve was right; the party was  _ much  _ less miserable with him there. Turns out, a snarky soldier was the  _ perfect  _ thing to bring to a gala, ripe with socialites just  _ begging  _ to be mocked. Steve was a breath of fresh air, and it wasn't long before the whole party took notice. Tony found himself laughing more genuinely than he had in a long time as Steve regaled a small crowd of people, watching with hearts in their eyes as he jabbered on about a prank he'd pulled on Bucky.

Tony finally got the chance to drag Steve over to a quiet corner of the room when the minute-to-midnight countdown began. "You look like you're having fun," he began.

Steve shrugged, smiling distractedly.

"It's getting close to midnight."

Steve nodded again.

"You know what happens when--"

"--that tradition is thousands of years old, Tony. I know what happens at midnight."

"Oh. Do you want to find someone? There are more than a few people here who'd be happy to--"

"No." Tony started a bit at the shockingly firm answer.

"I've already found someone," Steve continued. Before Tony could make any sense out of that, the sounds of loud chanting filled the large hall.

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

That was when Steve kissed him. Tony swore he could see the fireworks outside, even with his eyes closed. They broke apart just before things got too steamy.

"Was that just to prove you knew about kissing at midnight?" asked Tony dazedly.

Steve laughed. "No, Tony, that was because I wanted to.”

Tony blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I wanted to. This past year started out as one of the worst I've ever had. Then, I got to know you, and things took a turn for the better. The team made the present bearable. You've made the present beautiful."

"Please, Steve, you're the amazing one," scoffed Tony. "I just did what any decent person would do."

"Would 'any decent person' take three hours to not only explain how a tablet worked, but also explain how they're made and why they're important? Would 'any decent person' bring me cocoa in the middle of the night when both of us can't sleep and help me plan a funeral for newspapers? Would they make me suit upgrades when they want to apologize but can't find the words? Would they--"

"OK, I get it," laughed Tony. "I'm great, and you love me." He slowly quieted as he realized Steve wasn't laughing along with him, but was staring at him with a surprisingly soft look in his eyes.  _ Wait... _

"Yeah, actually. I think I might. Or at least, I could," he said.

Tony was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt. "So, new year, new relationship?" he asked.

"If you'll have me," replied Steve.

Tony felt like another kiss was answer enough (and totally worth the onslaught of tabloid covers.) He loved New Years’ parties. 


End file.
